Medical Edge: Warrior Run for suicide prevention

by Hannah G. Jones

CINCINNATI (Liz Bonis) -- It was a beautiful day to take a walk in the park so Local 12 News had a chance to meet up with two moms in the park.They are passionate about preventing others from feeling the same kind of loss that they do; about 2,500 hundred people expected to come out Saturday, Oct. 10, in support of them. If there's one thing Leah Osgood and Nancy Eigel Miller want people to know, it's that anybody can suffer from mental illness. It can affect any body in any home.Leah lost her brother, Brett, when he was a senior in high school. Nancy lost her husband Jim seven years ago.Nancy, "My husband had a very large personality. He was goofy and silly and everybody loved him so this was out of the blue. So we figured if this happened to us this could happen to anyone."Shortly after that Nancy started something called the Warrior Run. She wanted to raise awareness of the need for mental health help. Seven years later they have raised more than a quarter of a million dollars. Much of that money goes to program called Surviving the Teens with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and as part of that program they say if people see the early warning signs, or know someone who is depressed, reach out and ask them questions. And more importantly if people think someone may be at risk for suicide, ask them if they have a plan. These women know if people have a plan there may be other signs of depression and mental illness others are missing such as withdrawal, changing their routine, not sleeping, losing weight, closure of different things, closure of relationships.The warrior run is about interrupting those things and perhaps even that future plan with a team that will surround people with strength they didn't know they had. Thus the name: Warrior Run.CLICK HERE for more information on the Warrior Run.